Family, community members march for Basire Farrell

John Munson/The Star-LedgerKatie Woods, left, comforts Sharonda Smalls during a rally to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of Basire Farrell, 30, who died in police custody after he allegedly attacked police officers who were trying to subdue him. Woods is Farrell's great-aunt and Smalls is his aunt.

Marchers, mourners, and activists trekked from Tillinghast Street to Newark’s Fifth Precinct today to protest against police brutality and honor the one-year anniversary of the death of Basire Farrell.

In the early hours of May 15 last year, police responded to Morgan’s Bar on reports of a disorderly person identified as Farrell. By the time they arrived, he was walking home. After a confrontation with police, Farrell, who would have been 32 this month, died of cardiac arrest while en route to University Hospital.

"Five witnesses came forward and told what these police officers did," said Sharonda Smalls, claiming that Farrell, her nephew, was beaten, kicked, and hit with a police vehicle. Police denied the brutality allegation saying that Farrell punched and bit officers who were trying to subdue him, and his heart attack was not caused by their actions.

Smalls hired a private investigator after she said police tried to cover up the incident. Several protesters carried photographs showing bruises and scars on Farrell’s body.

"Me and my family, we never received a police report, we don’t have a death certificate, we don’t have his clothes," she said today.

Smalls was joined by dozens of supporters, including members of the People’s Organization for Progress, the New Black Panther Party and relatives of young men who claim their loved ones died at the hands of police.

"When we assembled we had at least seven families that were brutalized by police just in the last three years," said Zayid Muhammad, a local leader for the New Black Panthers. "It’s been a problem for a long time."

Farrell’s death touched off a series of protests throughout the city and worsened an already fractious relationship between the police department and many residents. The police have recently begun a series of community outreach forums to improve relations but many today said the department needed systemic change.

"There is another approach to policing that will stop this problem," Muhammad said, calling for a more "organic" relationship with the community. "You build around your block associations and your district leaders, and your churches."

Police cordoned off traffic as protesters made their way through the South Ward. Smalls credited Council President Mildred Crump for helping organize the march. Lawrence Hamm, chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress, thanked police for their help, but said his message should not be blunted.

"It is an abomination that black men can’t even get to jail and have a trial," Hamm said. "We thought lynchings had ended."